The exiled poet, Ovid stated on one occasion that 'Caesar is the state'. It turns out that he was quite close to the truth. In fact, senators and equestrians were refused entry into Egypt without express permission from the emperor. It was thought that prominent figures might pose too great a threat in a wealthy province. Augustus learned well from the past, and one of the people put to death after Antonius and Cleopatra were defeated, was a senator named Ovinius, who had run Cleopatra's woolen and textile factories.